An increasingly divided nation

In 1858, Abraham Lincoln said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” In the next line of that speech he went on to say, “I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.” Today we have a similar situation between those who hold traditional values and those who champion the progressive agenda.

Although the issues the feuding sides hold today are different than those held in 1858, the two sides both then and now are so far apart that compromise is unlikely, if not impossible. Thirty-four months after Lincoln's speech, the first shots of the Civil War were fired. Hopefully, we can do better today, but it certainly won't be easy.

Progressives blame the Tea Party for government gridlock and for unwillingness to compromise. The truth is that Democrats have been just as adamant about not negotiating with Republicans as the government continues to grow and spend more money than it takes in.

Like the abolitionists, social progressives claim the moral high ground, but unlike the slave owners, the Tea Party can also claim that their side upholds traditional American values without the taint of slavery to diminish their position. In fact, many Tea Party leaders equate increasing debt as the equivalent of financial slavery, dooming younger Americans to a lifetime of economic servitude.

If we don't want to end up with a permanently divided nation, which pits Red states against Blue states, the majority of Americans must overwhelmingly support one side or another. Currently the progressive position has the major news media and entertainment media firmly on their side along with most institutions of education.

For conservatives this is alarming. As a historical perspective, anti-slavery Republicans spurred on by the abolitionist groups wanted to change Southern society by ending slavery. (For those whose historical knowledge is limited, Lincoln was a Republican.) Southern leaders, mostly slave owners, wanted to keep the status quo. For most Southerners the issue was about states' rights more than slavery. Now traditionalists want to keep or at least return to what used to be the status quo while progressives want to change society into something they consider fairer.

Since both sides prefer ballots over bullets, each is trying to convince the great majority of Americans to support their point of view. To do this, the progressives are quick to equate conservatives, especially the Tea Party, with the slave owners and themselves with the anti-slavery abolitionists. This is not only factually unfair, but flies against the policies advocated by both sides. Traditionalists want more personal freedom and responsibility and less government intrusion and control over our lives. Progressives want bigger government involvement and more control over individual choices.

Conservatives would point out that progressive policies will eventually make people more dependent, less self-reliant and ultimately less free. They also point out that socialist policies, though they sound great, have never worked in real life.

In all of this Lincoln was right. Americans must decide what kind of society we want. Hopefully, a majority will choose one that has proven to work, rather than one that is doomed to failure when the government runs out of other people's money.